You'll analyze some of the same documents that historians use to reconstruct the history of the Wright brothers' first flights. For each piece you examine, complete an Evidence Evaluation Worksheet (PDF).

Evaluating Primary and Secondary Sources

Some of the artifacts and documents you will evaluate are primary sources; others are secondary sources. What's the difference?

Here are the definitions of primary and secondary sources used by the Smithsonian Archives:

Primary sources are documents or objects created as part of daily life-birth certificates, photographs, diaries, letters, etc.-or reports from people directly involved in the subject.

Secondary sources are documents that interpret, analyze, or synthesize information, usually produced by someone not directly involved in the subject.

Which is more reliable? Your teacher will give you information on evaluating primary and secondary sources and determining reliability. You'll learn how to assess a creator's or recorder's bias and make judgments about reliability.